You and Me, Against the World
by Blondie B. Happy
Summary: It was like a fire that began in the sky. It spread to the ocean, turning it unnatural colors. And then it came to our camp, faster than I had thought possible. I watched that fire spread, and my friends perish before my eyes. The horrible part was that there was no way I could save them. But now, it's just Percy and I, against what is left of the world. There isn't that much...
1. Chapter 1: The Sunset

**Full Summary (READ IT!):**

**I was with Percy when the world ended. The water was a deep orange, like a fire burning bright. Our relationship has been built up on the simple moments. But this time, the moment was going to be cut short. The end is not near- it's here. Because today is 12/21/12. I'm not sure how long we have, but I'm gonna make it last. An Apocalypse 2012 threeshot. This is after the events of the Heroes of Olympus series. All events have happened, including the Giant War. Leo, Piper, Jason, Hazel, and Frank, however, are NOT in the story. They are not mentioned, either. All other Greek campers are though. OOC? Yes, quite. Typos? Hmm, yeah...!**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

_I'm waking up to ash and dust_

_I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust_

_I'm breathing in the chemicals_

_~Radioactive by Imagine Dragons~_

* * *

I was with Percy when the world ended.

Up until that moment, my life had been perfect. No monsters had tried to kill us that day. Percy was being his normal Seaweed Brain self. The sun shone down on the Long Island Sound, turning the water a deep orange, like a fire burning bright.

Up until that moment, Percy and I were having an amazing day. We were on a date, this time inside of Camp Half-Blood. Even though that little incident between Percy and I on the Argo II had happened so many months ago, Coach Hedge practically breathed down our necks.

Up until that moment, nothing bad had happened… for once. I was beginning to believe that this might I have been the best moment of my life. And I could tell that Percy was thinking the same thing as we held hands and walked along the beach, side by side.

But all great moments have to come to an end. It's just a matter of time and waiting. Not that I was waiting. I would have been happy to let the moment go on for the rest of my life. I simple yet perfect, kind of like Percy and our relationship. It had always been that way, and even though I'm not sure how long we have, I hope it is still like that.

This simple moment was defined by us holding hands and gazing out at the water. We were sitting on the beach with none of the other campers anywhere to be found. They were probably busy finishing their chores and activities, while Percy and I both had free time at the end of the day.

That particular day was December 21st, 2012. Normally, if we had been outside of the camp, it would have been freezing. We'd be wearing jackets at Starbucks, drinking coffee. But with the magical borders of the Camp weather stayed perfect all year long, unless one of the gods got mad at us. Or if Percy and Thalia got in a fight. But then half the camp would be destroyed too, so rain would not be that big of a deal.

I was going to spend Christmas with Percy and his mom and Paul. I didn't want to travel across the country and risk dying just to see my family, all the way out in California. We were to spend two more days at camp before packing up and heading over to their apartment in the city.

"Maybe we could go for a swim," suggested Percy, brushing his thumb over my fingers.

I snorted. "Yeah, that'd be a good way to get hypothermia. Really, Seaweed Brain, sometimes you have the craziest ideas."

"I'd keep you protected," he insisted, running his free hand through his mess of black hair. "You've got nothing to worry about."

"Like I haven't heard that one before." I leaned against Percy's shoulder. "Besides, the idea of doing something like that is completely irrelevant. Neither of us have our swimsuits. It's freezing out in the water, and I don't care if you're a Son of Poseidon or not. Chiron may very well kill us if we did such a thing."

Percy made a face. "Then just take the joy out of my idea. Fine." He groaned. "God Annabeth, quit raining on my parade."

"I'm not, but sometimes you just need someone to tell you what's right and wrong. You're too impulsive."

"So I've been told." He laughed, and my heart melted a little bit inside. Wait, erase that, it sounds way too girly. "The sun seems pretty bright."

I rolled my eyes. "Percy, that may have been one of the stupidest conversation starters I have ever heard. Of course the sun is bright. It is star radiating energy and gases-"

He laughed again. "I don't need a science lesson, trust me on that. But it wasn't a conversation starter. I was being serious. Just look at it. It's not usually that bright, even during the sunset."

I was a beautiful sunset, but now I could see what Percy was seeing. The sun was actually brighter than normal, like someone had set a whole new coat of fire on it. I sighed deeply."I can see your point, but I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe a sun flare."

"Or maybe Apollo just won the lottery," joked Percy, and I chuckled. "That may be," I agreed. Something is Percy's eyes changed. He bent his head down and kissed me. It was sweet. He tasted like salt water and smelled like the ocean air.

I pulled away, smiling. "I think I just won the lottery." He smiled back at me. I kissed him this time, but it was very short. It was more like a peck, but my stomach fluttered nonetheless. I could just kiss him forever and never get tired of it.

Percy pulled away this time. He looked like he was sweating a little bit. "is it just me, or is it getting hotter? I mean, it feels like the summer time all of a sudden. I know it doesn't get that cold here, but it doesn't get this warm either."

It was a little bit toasty, like Arizona at high noon. Suddenly, I really needed a pair of sunglasses, which were in my cabin.

I shrugged. "I think I need my Ray bans. Will you walk back to my cabin with me so I can change and get them?"

"Certainly, m'lady." He stood up, bowed, and offered me his arm. I grinned at him. "Why, thank you, good sir." I locked my arm through his and let him pull me to my feet. I curtsied and kissed his cheek.

We passed by the forest and the edge of the camp. Satyrs were in the strawberry fields. Campers milled all over the place, and I could hear them complaining about the heat too. The Aphrodite girls were fanning themselves and crying about how the heat was ruining their oh so important hair.

Chiron was teaching kids archery and noticed us when we passed by. He raised an eyebrow and swished his tail. "And may I ask where you two have been." He said it lightly, but it wasn't a question.

"Just on the beach," we answered causally as he notched an arrow and sent it flying. It hit straight in the center, but Chiron looked troubled by the outcome. "It was off," he mumbled. "It's never that far off…"

Chiron? Mumbling? Yeah, that was definitely wrong. It wasn't like the old centaur to be like that. Plus, he was paranoid. Percy's eyes were almost popping out of their sockets. "Off? What are you talking about? That's right in the-"

I nudged Percy. It was better to leave things like this as they were. We walked back to my cabin. "I'll meet you back out here in five minutes, okay?"

He nodded. "I'm going to go change into shorts. See you in a few." He left and I walked inside.

I pushed my stuff around. Thankfully, I had actually packed an old orange shirt and some faded jean shorts. I pulled them on and pulled my curly hair back into a ponytail. As I was doing so, my half brother Malcolm walked inside, also sweating, his face red.

It took him a minute to notice me, and he jumped when he did. "What are you doing in here?"

"You mean I'm not allowed to come into my own cabin anymore?"

"No, it's just I expected you to be out with Percy."

"I was with Percy, actually, but we decided to change since it was so hot outside. Do you have any idea why?"

He shrugged. "Not at all, and I hate that."

I rummaged through my stuff some more until I finally found my old scratched up sunglasses. Setting them on top of my head, I contemplated whether or not I should put on my SPF 2000 (in case I ever need to visit Helios) sunscreen. What the heck? I thought, and smeared some on. I shoved it in my pocket. Maybe Percy would need it.

That's when the screams began.

Ear-shattering, horrendous shrieks. They surrounded the cabin and were so loud that I almost slapped my hands over my ears. They sent cold shivers through my body and my teeth rattled. Had monsters attacked us? Had the giants re-risen from the earth? Had the Titans returned to kill us? There were so many possibilities, none of them good.

It took me a fraction of a second to grab my old shield from the Titan War and a bottle of nectar. I made sure I had my knife in hand. Malcolm was doing the same thing. He had a short blade that he always kept under his bed.

He nodded at me. "You ready?"

"Yep." As ready as I'll ever be. Better to not think about it and go on instinct. He kicked open the door and we stood back to back ready to fend off the monsters that would surely attack us. But there were no monsters to speak of.

I was aware of the heat on my skin, and my brother screaming next to me in pain. I guess it was a good thing that I had bothered to put on the sunscreen. Heat licked my skin and smoke choked my lungs.

There were faces all on the ground, clawing at their throats. A few were standing, stumbling around in shock. I was one of them. Tear streamed down their faces but evaporated instantly.

Wait, wasn't it 12/21/12? How could I have been so stupid? I wanted to go back to half an hour ago, and say yes to Percy on the beach. I wanted to go swimming. Why didn't I say yes? Now the end of the world wasn't near. It was here, something that I believed would never happen.

The end of the world had always been just a myth to me. But I should've known better. Weren't all myths real?

And now, the camp and its campers were in flames.

* * *

**I've been wanting to do this for a while. I started writing it on Thanksgiving. I'll be updating my House of Hades soon, but I'm really busy (five BIG exams and one BIG project that I'm trying to do!) Plus, one of my friends got 9 Golden One Direction Passes, so I might get to go with her to meet them in New York (I hope I can go!)**

**Remember: This is purely science fiction. None of this is really going to happen on 12/21/12, for you guy who are nervous and take my work WAY too seriously. Pfft, as if I'm Rachel...**

**Reviews are totally loved!**

**-BBH**


	2. Chapter 2: The Fire

**Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome!**

**Sorry for any typos and the OOCness! Enjoy!**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

_I'm breaking in, shaping up,_

_Then checking out on the prison bus._

_This is it, the apocalypse. Whoa._

_~Radioactive by Imagine Dragons~_

* * *

I coughed up the ash that was in my lungs, clawing at my throat like the people around me. I was helpless to whatever was happening.

I hated the feeling of not knowing something. I really hadn't believed this was going to happen. It was probable. The fact that the entire world would end in one day was a stupid opinion. There had to be a simple explanation for the things going on. Wasn't there? But the facts all around me said otherwise.

Toughen up, Annabeth, I thought.

Slowly, I stood up. My fingers were black. I could smell rotting and burning flesh all around me.

Rachel should've predicted something as big as the Apocalypse. Being the Oracle and all that, she could do things like that. She too had already come back to camp from the finishing school that she hated. I was pretty sure her father hadn't even known about it. She had just hopped in a taxi and paid them enough to take her to Long Island.

"Help!" I squeaked, my throat raw. Someone in front of me turned their head. I couldn't even recognize the face. The person had scratched in so much trying to breathe that it was covered in blood and red lines with a mix of black. The person's eyes rolled in the back of their head, and they passed out.

Or maybe they died. I couldn't tell one way or another.

I gulped, but there was no saliva in my mouth. I struggled to my feet and stumbled forward. The other surrounding cabins were in flames too. Ares Cabin was redder than usually, and the metal on the barb wire was melting.

Zeus Cabin at the front was crumbling. The giant marble pedestals collapsed before my eyes onto the rest of the cabin.

I turned and looked for the Hermes cabin. I couldn't find and realized that was because there was nothing left of it. The dilapidated old cabin was completely gone now, and I couldn't see any of their campers.

Aphrodite Cabin was a mixture of orange, red, yellow, black, and their Barbie girl pink. I could hear the cries of the girls and the curses from the guys as they burned alive. They weren't even crying for themselves or each other. I could hear one of the girls crying because her brand new Abercrombie dress was burning and smoldering. They were ridiculous.

The Apollo and Artemis cabins were going down at the same pace, twin paces. I could hear their shrieks. Random arrows flew from the Apollo cabin, the campers there thinking that monsters were behind this. The Artemis cabin was vacant since the Hunters weren't at cabin. I could only hope that they were safe wherever they were.

Hera's cabin was gone too. I was pretty happy about that though. I'd wanted to see Hera burn alive for years, and this was going to be the closest that I would ever come to that.

All of the other cabins were in just as bad of shape. I wanted to cry for them. My friends needed help and I wasn't there to help them. And there was no possible way that I would be able to. I wanted to cry, but the tears just wouldn't come.

Then something struck me like a bullet. _What about Percy?_

Terror ran through me as I whirled on the Poseidon cabin. It too was burning, but slowly. The fire weakened whenever it got near the cabin. I guess that's because he's the god of the sea, and water and fire didn't mix well together.

I couldn't see Percy anywhere. I couldn't hear his familiar voice. He couldn't be dead. There was no way.

I started my way towards his cabin and tripped over something. I gasped and fell down on my face. My jaw snapped and teeth rattled inside my head. I bit my tongue and could taste my own hot blood. I started to choke on an unfortunate mouthful of dirt and debris.

I rolled over and looked at what I had fallen on. My heart skipped a beat. It was Malcolm. He was showing no signs of being alive. I couldn't see the rise and fall of his chest. His eyes were partially open and didn't blink.

Again, I wanted to get down and cry, but the tears refused to come. I cursed my life and was ready to just lay down next to my half brother and close my own eyes, but Percy stopped me. I had to find him.

I flailed my arms and jumped to my feet. I started to sprint in his direction. The world tilted and I saw three of his cabin. The sky was black now. The cries were getting softer. My head felt weirdly light.

"Mother help me," I mumbled and stood up straighter. I hadn't realized that I had been leaning in the wrong direction. Just I few more steps, I told myself. But the distance seemed to be miles. I got tunnel vision, and I could barely see my destination for a second.

I was vaguely aware of someone yelling my name, but I stared at the ground and kept shuffling forward. I tripped, but this time, a pair of strong arms caught me around my waist and lifted my back to my feet. Someone was screaming at me, pleading with me. I couldn't move anymore. I collapsed against the person.

I'm sorry Percy.

The person didn't say anything else. He or she lifted me up like I weighed nothing and slung me over their shoulder. I was as limp as a rag doll and my head rolled as they ran into some building. The violent colors of the world turned very dark, and someone lowered me onto something very fluffy. It wasn't the hard ground, and it wasn't burning.

"Annabeth." The person was shaking me now. "Say something!"

"Who's there?" I croaked. I opened my eyes more. The person set their fingers against my cheek and stroked my jaw. I leaned into the touch and opened my eyes more. It was Percy, his green eyes filled with worry.

I jumped up and wrapped my arms around him. I snuggled my head into his chest. He placed his arms around me and rested his head on top of mine. I wanted to freeze that moment and live in it forever. He was okay. But he drew back.

"Annabeth, we don't have that much time. Put your knife away. You may need free hands."

I hadn't even realized that I still had the stupid thing. It sure hadn't helped me at all. There were no monsters anywhere. They too were probably all dead. I rubbed my forehead, then tossed Percy my sunscreen. He caught it in surprise."You need to put some of this on."

"Annabeth, what's going on out there? It felt like my skin was melting off when I came out to get you."

"It probably was. It's the Apocalypse, Percy. I really think it is. The entire camp is burning, and if you don't put this on, you'll burn too. It's one of the only reasons that I'm even alive right now," I admitted sadly.

Percy blinked and got a dumbfounded look on his face. "The Apocalypse?" he asked wearily. "You have to be joking. Please tell you're joking." He really was begging.

"It's the only explanation."

"Well, then we have less time than I thought." He put on the sunscreen in a rush. "This cabin won't stay up forever against the fire. We need to get into someplace that can withstand this. I was thinking Bunker 9. The fire has probably opened it up, and it's the safest place in the camp right now."

"What about the ocean?" I asked.

"It's too far away. The fire is mainly coming from that direction." He grasped my hands and pulled me towards him. "Annabeth listen to me: We need to run. Don't stop for anything. Just keep going until you get to the bunker. Even if I stop, you have to keep going. Promise me."

I looked up into his eyes. He was serious. There was sadness in them. I knew how much he wanted to go out there and save his friends. It was his fatal flaw. I kissed him quickly. "I promise," I whispered, kissing him again on the cheek. "I love you," I said into his shoulder.

"I love you too," he breathed. We stepped away from each other and he grabbed my hand. He pulled me to the door. "One, two, THREE!" he yelled and opened the door. We sprinted away from his cabin and towards the forest.

I couldn't even look at the camp. I stared at Percy's back in front of me and followed him. There were still cries all around me of the people that were on fire. Someone grabbed at my ankles, begging me to stop and help them. I kept running. There was no way I could help them now.

We entered the forest. Heat fell on me in thick layers. All of the trees were on fire. I could hear nymphs and satyrs yelling as their homes and life sources were dying. Percy tugged on my hand. I picked up my paste.

I coughed hard into my hand. Blood came out. My lungs felt shriveled.

"Only a little farther," wheezed Percy, taking a sharp turn. I couldn't even see anymore. I was aware of us entering Bunker 9. Percy stopped and shoved me forward, releasing our grip. But I did as I had promised, even though it felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest. I kept running.

I never liked Bunker 9 that much. It was impressive, that's for sure. But the narrow section full of shelves always confused me. Now, with my fogged up brain, they seemed as confusing as the Labyrinth.

I fell again, this time on concrete. I hopped back up to my feet, oblivious to the pain. I kept running until my body gave out and my knees couldn't support me any longer. I fell against a wall and sank to my butt.

I was in a corner. I didn't even know where in the bunker I was now. Percy was gone, and the lights were off. There was no red now, except for the crimson on my hands and clothes, which were still smoldering. My face was probably red from lack of oxygen.

Where was Percy?

"Percy!" I cried out. My voice echoed in the vast chamber. Anyone inside would've been able to hear me. I waited and waited, but there was no response.

"PERCY!" I repeated. I said his name over and over again. I started to get hysterical, banging my head and hands against the walls. There was never an answer. Why didn't I stopped? I should've broken my promise and stayed with him. What was he doing? Or was he now doing nothing now? I tried to stand back up, but my feet were unwilling to do anything like that. I was covered in sweat, ashes, fire, and despair. Percy was not answering. No… No… NO!

I thought back to when Percy and I had been sitting on the beach. Again, why hadn't I just gone onto the ocean with him?

And now, the tears actually came. They flowed down my face in strong torrents, like sheets of rain. I cried for my friends, who were still out there. I cried for my family, that was suffering somewhere. I cried for the gods, who probably hadn't seen this coming at all.

But most of all, I cried for _my _Percy.

* * *

**Part two of the threeshot is now complete. Go check out my House of Hades FanFic! **

**13 Days till the end of the world! Yippee! And I don't really believe it's going to end. The Mayans actually said that day was to celebrate one of their kings or something. I read that in the glossary of The End Of The World Club, book 2 in the Jaguar Stones! We can only hope that that's the truth!**

**Reviews are totally loved!**

**-BBH**


	3. Chapter 3: The Ashes

**Thanks for all of the amazing reviews! Here is the final part of my Apocalypse Threeshot. And I promise you that I will be here on the 22nd. See you then!**

* * *

_I'm waking up; I feel it in my bones_

_Enough to make my systems blow._

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age. _

_Whoa. I'm radioactive, radioactive._

_~Radioactive by Imagine Dragons~_

* * *

Once I had cried my eyes out, I fell into a fitful sleep, rolling around with dried tears on my face.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed before I felt a calloused and blistered hand on my cheek. A familiar voice whispered, "Annabeth, let me see your eyes." I didn't want anyone to see my eyes ever again, but the voice was so soothing that I cracked the open, just for a peek.

Percy smiled down at me. Black ash had transformed his face. Blood ran through his already midnight hair, and his clothes were burned to bits, pretty much falling apart. His leg had a giant red burn on it. His finger nails were black and red. The only part of his body that shined were his ever amazing sea green eyes. He was beautiful.

I jumped on him… literally. The tears started again. I sobbed words that didn't even make sense as Percy rocked me back and forth, whispering, "It's okay. It's all over now."

I didn't even care what he meant by that. He was back in my arms. My Percy had returned. Hurt but in one piece. I had really thought that he was dead. In my eyes flashed the vision of Malcolm on the ground outside. It brought even more tears to my eyes and I gripped Percy's shirt with my fist. I let out an inhuman sound.

"I'm here," Percy said into my hair, stroking my back. "I'm here. Don't cry."

"I know, that's why I am." I sobbed like a big baby and buried my face in the crook of his neck. "I thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain. Don't you dare ever do anything like that to me again, you big idiot!"

"Yeah I missed you too." I could feel his smile as he pressed his lips to my cheek. "But I didn't think you were dead. I knew you were too tough to die." This made me smile. I pressed my lips to his. He tasted like salt water and blood.

"Annabeth," Percy breathed some time later. My head was on his shoulder. One of my hands was combing his hair while the other was intertwined with his. "We should leave now. You need to see this."

"Percy," I said, ignoring him. "What happened out there? Is anyone else okay?"

A dark shadow seemed to fall across his face. "You'd better see this for yourself," he muttered sadly, standing up. He reached down and pulled me to my feet. I gulped, not knowing what he was talking about and hating the feeling of being nervous and scared.

Percy led me through the maze of shelves and junk. It seemed like he had been through the area many times. "Percy, how long have I been asleep? How did you know where I was? How are we alive? What happened to you?" All of my questions came out in one big rush.

"Well, that's a lot of questions. You've been asleep for at least a day. You left me at least thirty hours ago, and I found you almost 24 hours ago I think. You wouldn't wake up." I was already shocked. Asleep for a day? That was totally unlike me. Percy continued, "I sat with you for a while and then explored everything." He looked painstakingly depressed, and he wasn't telling me the whole truth. I didn't want to poke and prod at the subject, so I looked ahead and zipped my lips.

"You'll just have to see more once we get out there." We walked very slowly, taking our time. I was almost ready to pull him back into my safe little corner and just fall asleep in his arms. But I was way too curious.

"I will tell you this: It doesn't look that good," Percy sighed, gripping my hand tightly. He blinked rapidly, like he was going to cry. And that would probably make me start crying again, and then we would just be one big mess of tears all over again.

"Um, and by that you mean…" Gods, I was supposed to keep my lips shut. Stupid Annabeth.

Percy opened his mouth and then closed it like a fish. He was sweating and looked frightened.

"Percy, don't say anything you don't want to say. You don't have to do anything for my sake. I'll see it when I get out there." His shoulders relaxed.

When we got to the entrance of Bunker 9, Percy stopped me. There was sheer fear in his eyes. I tugged his hand, but he wouldn't go forward. "Percy." I pulled him and pushed him, but he was rooted to the ground. "Let's go outside."

"Annabeth," he said slowly. "A few years ago, I went on a short quest with Clarisse. It was only a few hours long and was during a school day."

That stopped me. He and Clarisse hated each other with a passion. The fact that they would go anywhere together horrified me. But why hadn't he told me? He continued without me saying anything. "I met Phobos while I was on that quest."

"The god of fear," I said automatically without thinking.

"Yeah, he agreed. "That's the truth. But he showed me my biggest fear, and that was watching the camp and my friends burn, and me not being able to do anything."

That was exactly what had happened. "And now it has burned without me doing anything. I don't know if I can go back out there, Annabeth."

"You don't have to, Percy. I'll go by myself. You can just stay in here." But Percy shook his head and stepped out of his spot. "I will not let you go alone," he protested, even though he still looked really bad. "Besides, I'll have to come out of here some time or later."

I wished Percy had told me about that before, but there was no point in lingering on the subject. Percy and I stepped outside where I was hit by a wave of heat so harsh that I had to close my eyes. When I opened them, I gasped.

It was like someone had taken a chainsaw to the trees and hacked off all of the limbs, and then taken a black Sharpie and colored them in. The sky was orange like the sunset but it felt like a hot summer day in the middle of a desert. Everything was dead.

"This can't be right." I shook my head. "How did this happen?"

"The apocalypse?" tried Percy, shrugging his shoulders. He squinted in the heat.

"Maybe." I kept going forward. "Hello?" I called, and my voice echoed like I was in a tunnel. I cringed at the sound. Usually, about three or four nymphs would yell at me that I was disturbing their meditation or something, but it was eerily quiet.

"There is no one," choked Percy, tears coming to his eyes. "I've checked the forest and the edge of camp, but I haven't been inside yet."

"Well, better late than never." Percy and I trekked through the dead trees. There were fallen branches that we had to jump over. Some of them were still smoldering. I put my hand against a tree, and a thick cloud of black floated down and coated my whole body.

I coughed and brushed away some of the ash. We kept walking until we reached the end of the forest, and I gasped again.

The green hills were black with death. We walked towards the cabins, me gasping at every sight. When we got to our homes, I fell to my knees in another pile of ash that probably used to be someone I knew.

I started crying again. Percy was down next to me, crying too. I picked up a handful of ash and threw it, screaming my head off. There were no cabins left. I saw a pile of rocks were my own cabin used to be, and the walls had also been turned black like the rest of the sky.

Percy held me, sobbing louder than before. His gaze was on his own cabin. Or, where it had been. There was absolutely nothing left of the Poseidon cabin. Not even ash. There was only a small fire burning where it had been. The Poseidon cabin was supposed to be fire proof, and even it was gone.

All of the other cabins were gone too, and so were the people who had once been inside them. "IS ANYONE HERE!?" I screamed hysterically.

No one answered, but my hops were gone. Everyone was dead.

I don't know exactly how long Percy and I cried. I know it last over an hour, but the sky never changed. It stayed blood red and orange. The heat stayed the same too. Once again, it was Percy that made me get up. "Let's go look around some more," he said.

"How can you say that?" I asked. "ALL OF OUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD! WHAT'S THE POINT?"

Percy shook his head. "I don't know." Tears began to fall again. I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I shouldn't have yelled at Percy. But I couldn't bring myself to take it back. I rose to my feet and started walking towards the ocean, assuming that he would follow.

I did hear his footsteps and shaky breaths. I felt my permanent scowl on my forehead. I would not cry anymore. I kept looking ahead and not at him. I wasn't even mad at him. I just wanted to be alone.

I had never been more alone, but it felt like there were people all around me. My friends, haunting me, asking me why we hadn't tried to save them. I wondered if this was what Percy had felt like when Phobos had shown him his greatest fear. I couldn't even imagine what was going through his head now. All of his nightmares had come true.

We kept walking until we reached the dunes, and the one thing that hadn't changed was the ocean, it still looked the same, a strong, churning body of water. I stopped at the edge of the shore, and Percy came up next to me. There was a small smile on his face, and it looked foreign.

"At least this is still here." Percy knelt down and scooped up a handful of water. "The fire never affected this."

"It wasn't just a fire," I protested. "It was hell on earth. And now we're all that remains. We should be dead too."

"No we aren't, Annabeth. The ocean is still here. As long as the ocean is still here, the organisms that were in the ocean should be there too. Maybe my father is still there!"

"So?"

"Sooo, we can live. If other things are living than we can too. Maybe there are some people, somewhere, that are like us. Those freaky people on TV shows that live in bunkers in fear that they were going to die. They weren't crazy. They were smart. They're alive somewhere!"

Percy grabbed my hand and pulled me into the surf. And I allowed him too. "Come on," he said. "We need to leave camp. Let's go to my father's palace and get some help."

"We don't even know if he's… alive. Or any of his subjects. Why don't we go into the city? There's a better chance there."

"No one here is, Annabeth. And I highly doubt there will be anyone in New York City. As much as I hate to say it, my Mom's probably dead." He sighed, and a single tear escaped. I could tell he was on the verge of breaking down, but he kept talking. "We can't stay here any longer. We have to leave. We'll come back. Our friends wouldn't want us to stay. They'd want us to get help. Trust me."

I trusted Percy more than anyone else. I gripped his hands and let him pull me under. The water was actually kind of comforting, like a blanket. It was so cool compared to the air.

All of my friends are dead. They're gone. There was nothing they could do. I do not know if some crazy god or titan, some primordial or giant did this to the world. Maybe it was as a punishment. I'll probably never know. I don't know what to do. I don't know where to go or what comes next.

But I do know that I am not alone. Not in the slightest.

Now, it is just Percy and I, against what is left of the world. And honestly, no matter what I may say or think, I wouldn't have it any other way_._

* * *

_I raise my flags, don my clothes_

_It's a revolution, I suppose_

_We'll paint it red to fit right in. __Whoa._

_~Radioactive by Imagine Dragons~_

* * *

**THE END! I hope you all enjoyed the Threeshot! *TeddyBearHugsAndKisses:)***

**Reviews are loved! Check out my House of Hades story!**

**-BBH**


End file.
